Couples and families could save money by booking holidays on a bed and breakfast basis rather than going all inclusive in several popular European resorts this summer.
These include the Spanish Costas, the Algarve in Portugal, Ayia Napa in Cyprus and Sunny Beach in Bulgaria.
Majorca was the only destination where the all Inclusive cost was lower, Post Office Travel Money found.
A July B&B package including meals and drinks for two people in the Algarve was £309 cheaper than a week’s all inclusive holiday – £863 compared with £1,172 for two people.
Savings for families in August were greater. A family of four could save themselves £342 by taking the B&B option in Ayia Napa for a week during the school holidays – £2,290 for a B&B break compared with 2,632.
Similarly, in the Costa del Sol families could save themselves almost £293 £1,476 for B&B; £1,769 for all inclusive, the research found.
Andrew Brown of Post Office Travel Money said: “We found that twice as many holidaymakers had been on a European all inclusive trip than on a long haul one.
“Since the research also showed that European resorts include far less, it is important for holidaymakers to budget carefully and do their homework to find out how much meals and other extras might add to their ‘all inclusive’ trip.
He added: “With the rise in the value of sterling, now worth around seven per cent more against the euro than a year ago, it is also worth checking whether going all inclusive will save money.
“Our recent research has charted price falls in European restaurants and bars this year so it may be cheaper to book a B&B package and eat out each day to get a real flavour of their holiday destination.”
The Post Office All Inclusive Holiday Report that revealed a widening gap between UK tourists on European and long haul all inclusive packages. Bargain-hunters who have stayed in European resorts now expect less to be included in their package and fewer are prepared to pay for extras than they were just two years ago.
Of the two-in-five UK adults who have taken an all inclusive trip, twice as many have visited a European resort.
Although seven-in-ten still admitted paying for extras that were not included in their European all inclusive package, there has been a sharp fall in the numbers who paid for branded alcohol from 39% in 2012 to 24%. There were similar falls for purchases of bottles of wine (-9%), branded soft drinks (-10%), mini-bar drinks (-9%) and cocktails (-6%).
By contrast, UK holidaymakers visiting long haul resorts not only expected more from their all inclusive package but more of them were prepared to pay for extras. More than three quarters (76%) paid extra to get the holiday experience they wanted – six per cent more than a year ago.
Long haul holidaymakers are more likely to find that a la carte meals, branded alcohol, water-sports and internet access are included in their all inclusive deal than those in European resorts, according to the study.
At least 80% of European all inclusive resorts excluded branded drinks and meals.
Only 20% of European hotels included branded alcohol drinks in their all inclusive packages and just 15% offered complimentary mini-bars compared with half of long haul hotels for both of these items.
Eighty per cent of long haul holidaymakers had complimentary internet access, compared with 65% in Europe. And just 20% included a la carte meals in Europe whereas 55% did so in destinations further afield.
As a result one-in-seven – 2.75 million UK all inclusive holidaymakers worldwide – collectively paid around £66 million to eat a la carte. Almost as many (2.6 million) spent nearly £41 million on bottles of wine – excluded by almost four-in-five of the all inclusive resorts surveyed worldwide – in order to avoid glasses of budget house wine.
Meanwhile, almost three-in-ten (28%) of people who had taken European all inclusive trips paid extra for spa treatments.
Even more holidaymakers on long haul trips – 35% of those surveyed – spent money in the spa. At an average of £43 per treatment, this means that in total six million all inclusive holidaymakers paid £253 million for massages and other treatments.